Clara Smith
by Supfan
Summary: AU/Pete's World. Alternate theory to where Clara could have come from. The Doctor sees zeppelins in the sky once more. Why did the TARDIS bring him back here after all this time? And why is Clara completely unsurprised? 11th Doctor and Clara...10.5/Rose. Yes there are gaps, but I'm not freaking Moffat so deal with my imperfections. Don't like, then don't read. No Flames.


**(A/N: Okay, so this is my FIRST Doctor Who fic. Doesn't fit in with the series, yes there are gaps and left out explanations but I'm no Moffat [I'm not that cruel haha]. I'm hoping fellow Whovians will appreciate my attempt...if you don't like, feel free to tell me so...in a NICE and CONSTRUCTIVE manner. If you wanna be nasty...PISS OFF! To all those who enjoy, please leave a review and tell me so. With all the speculation that took place before we learned who Clara was, this was an idea I've had brimming for a while. AR Pete's World).**

The Doctor ran around his controls, dancing back and forth with an incredibly enthused expression. He wasn't her father no...but moments like this...when he was at the controls of his TARDIS, she could see how he once had been. She'd been traveling with the Doctor for long enough to know he was everything her parents had ever said. So similar to her father, but another man entirely. His brilliance...his brilliance was unchanged. Slowly, her memories had begun to resurface. She remembered the blonde hair and cockney accent of her mother, the slight build and charisma of her father. Clara smiled and bumped the Doctor's hip with her own. "So, where we off to now Doctor?"

The gleam appeared in his eyes. "The planet of Cuatonik! Absolutely stunning, it has majestic purple clouds that – " the rest of the Doctor's description was lost in the grinding and whirring sounds of the Tardis lurching more abnormally than usual. As if she was screaming in protest, the TARDIS wailed and raged. "Oh, no! No! No! What's the matter, huh?" the Doctor exclaimed as he reached for a lever. The ship gave an immediate jolt, throwing the Doctor into the bar circling the panel. "Come on, Old Girl!"

"Doctor! What's happening?" Clara screamed, holding on to the nearest stable surface she could find.

Latching onto his screen, he maneuvered with the out-of-control time machine. "That's not possible! That's just not possible!"

"What's not possible?"

"The Void...we've fallen into the Void..."

The Doctor had begun rambling to himself, sputtering off things that she didn't understand. He thought the entirety of the situation was totally lost on his companion. The incredibly intelligent alien, had no idea of the expanse in which she knew about the Void. Her memories were fuzzy, hazy in her travels through the dimensions, but she remembered the stories of Hell. At first the memories had started as dreams, so confusing that she was sure they were just that...dreams. Then the waking-spells had started, visions and memories of her life leaking through time and into her subconscious during random moments.

As suddenly as it had all begun, the lurching stopped...the TARDIS eerily silent. The Doctor looked to the screen, flipping some switches and checking a few dials. "She's alive. Not in the best state, mind you, but alive. Last time she jumped dimensions there was only a single cell holding onto power. She took control and brought us here herself, but why?"

Clara didn't stick around to listen to his musings. The TARDIS and her may not have always had the best connection, but she knows this trip...it was for her. She approached the door, holding her breath. As soon as the cool breeze from the outdoors hit her face, she knew...she was home. They'd landed on a busy London street, between a phone booth and a traffic light. The zeppelins of her childhood swam through the air, motors humming a comforting tune. She closed her eyes and breathed in the atmosphere.

She didn't notice that the Doctor had gone silent behind her, following her out into the open air. He had been stunned to silence. "Clara...? I've been here before. A long...long time ago."

He studied her features and the odd attitude she was exuding about the trip the TARDIS had decided to take them on. She sighed before responding. "I know." At the look of confusion on his face she decided to explain. "Doctor, I haven't been completely honest with you."

Clara began to walk, not surprised to hear the Doctor following close behind. "Oswald was the name of my adopted family. Wonderful family...incredibly kind. Took me in when I was eleven. Everything I told you about them was honest to my knowledge. The memories...it's like they were implanted there. My whole family, given a false history."

"By who?"

"I'm pretty sure it was my father. He was good with telepathy. I was too young to understand the process, but he knew I'd be safe. Knew I was meant to find you," she explained walking faster as they neared their destination. They were in parallel-London. And the Doctor was beginning to piece together exactly who his Impossible Girl was.

"Your father..."

"You remind me of him. Not exactly, 'course. You're different in so many ways, but not so different," she interrupted as she stopped at a door. Without hesitating, she knocked loudly.

"Clara, you're..." And for the second time that day, the Doctor was silenced as Rose Tyler opened the door.

"Sorry, 'm actually runnin' out," Rose spoke quickly pulling her jacket on. With her arm halfway into one sleeve she froze, her eyes locking with Clara's. She immediately reversed her actions, dropping her jacket and stepping forward, blinking in disbelief. "Is that...is that you? Clara?"

"Mum..." Clara whispered, lifting her arms and embracing the blonde fiercely. Thick tears slipped down Rose's cheeks.

The Doctor stood in awe, believing and yet, not quite believing the site before him. Rose had yet to notice him, but at this point he was content to watch the strange reunion. Rose looked surprisingly well for her age. For having a daughter of 24, she didn't look to be beyond her early 30's. She stroked the hair of her daughter, pulling back to get a better look at her face. "You're all grown up. How are you all grown up?" It was then that her gaze drifted over Clara's shoulder. She stopped a moment. "...Doctor?"

He nodded once, a small, sad smile gracing his features. His pink and yellow companion of days gone by, staring him in the eyes. "Hello, Rose Tyler."

Her hand moved to cover her mouth, but she stopped her movements and composed herself. Planting another kiss on her daughter's cheek, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around the alien she had once traveled through time and space with. "Actually, it's Smith now," she said with a beaming smile. "Hello, Doctor." He reciprocated the hug in earnest, remembering how incredible her hugs could make him feel. Grabbing them both by the hands, she tugged with an incredible amount of strength and began dragging them into the house.

She led them to a front sitting room and stopped, staring at the pair of them a moment, the disbelief written across her face. "Wait, right here. John will want to see you, of course."

She'd been up the stairs and out of sight only seconds when the Doctor began to run his hands through his hair. Then he checked his shoes for muck. Immediately, he began to straighten his tie, then polish his teeth and check his breath. "Doctor, you're fidgeting," Clara said quietly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's not every day you get to meet a past, albeit- human, regeneration of yourself. I was never supposed to end up the first time, this is all a very confusing experience," he rambled, glancing around the room and taking in all of his surroundings. "I don't like not-knowing, not liking this at all. And you're Rose and _his _…. child. How long have you known?"

"The last few weeks, after Trenzalore, I started having dreams. Then the memories just started leaking back into my head...like it was time."

From overhead, the a loud thud sounded before the tell-tale sound of running feet. Clara smiled and took a few steps towards the stairwell. The Doctor slipped into the shadows, letting the father and daughter have their moment.

John Smith stood at the top of the stairwell, staring down at his adult daughter. She appeared to have aged over ten years since the time he'd seen her last. In a few strides, he was down the stairs and clutching Clara in a bone-crushing hug. "Brilliant...absolutely brilliant...look just like I saw," he murmured, clutching her. Rose joined them soon after, tears still glistening in her eyes. After their reunion, John stepped back. "Well, hello Doctor." The man looked nearly the same as he did after the meta-crisis, with just a touch of gray touching his roots. It suited him.

"Hello Doctor," he smiled and reached forth to shake the man's hand.

"Call me John," he reciprocated the handshake. "Doctor John Smith in this world. Got a bit difficult to maintain the human lifestyle when everyone keeps asking who you are."

The women of the group sat down next to each other on the couch, the human-doctor and the Doctor alternating stances and positions throughout the room. Clara laughed at how similarly they acted. "You look like cousins or something, bouncin' 'round. Takin' everythin' in," Rose commented, echoing her daughter's thoughts.

"Well, same man in a way. He may have regenerated, but the biological signature of him is deeply embedded in my DNA. Every regeneration is different, but like I told you when I got this handsome gob, same man," John answered removing his glasses and swiping at them with a cloth. "Though, you are quite a few years older than when I was created, eh?"

"300 or so," he answered back. "Had a lovely couple aboard the TARDIS for a time...they've gone now of course. Then...I met Clara." He looked at John pointedly. "I assume you are the one with an explanation for this? Now, I know, that you know she is brilliant but that doesn't explain how or why you sent her across dimensions to find me."

"After Clara was born, I started having dreams. Dreams of her, as an adult with past reincarnations of myself. I remembered her in my timestream. Things got...confusing. Then I saw her save me, you...us...over and over again. The Library for example. She was there when River – " John halted himself at the look on the Doctor's face. It had obviously been his future she'd been a part of. He decided not to press the story. "Then, I saw her in the TARDIS with you. Young look by the way, very fresh. Interesting choice on the neck-ware."

"Bow-ties are cool," he defended straightening it once more. "So a series of dreams, eh? And you just decided to ship her off?"

"It wasn't like that," Clara cut in. "There were these horrible nightmares every night. Nightmares of what would happen if I didn't go to you. I told mum and dad and they believed me. Both were having similar dreams. Then Torchwood assisted in that bracelet thing."

"Bracelet-thing?" the Doctor asked.

From his pocket, John pulled a thick metal bracelet that resembled Captain Jack's vortex manipulator. "This is only a prototype, but the model Torchwood developed, it worked. I altered her memories, set a destination based on the details I'd acquired from the dreams and voila."

"What I don't understand is how you are so much older. Don't get me wrong love, I'm am happy to see you at all, but you took the leap three years ago. You look to be 'bout 22? How long have you been gone?"

"Twenty-four actually. It's been about 14 years mum..." she responded holding her mother's hand. Rose immediately responded, tears leaking from her eyes. "Mum, don't look like that. I grew up fine and I did what I needed to do...I saved the Doctor."

Rose composed herself, trying to keep up with the conversation and hold back her emotions. "So, what happened with the age gap then?"

"Transdimensional spacial flux," the Doctor's answered in unison. They looked at each other, before John Smith let the Doctor continue with a nod. "I'm surprised your device was even accurate enough to catch me during the right timeline. You and Rose could have easily collided and met at an early point...grown up together."

"Um, is that even possible?" Clara asked, sitting next to her mum.

"Happens more often than you'd think..." he mused. "Anyway, when we traveled back, the TARDIS selected an optimum time range. She obviously wanted to bring Clara back, but there must be a reason she chose today..."

John straightened his tie and cleared his throat. "Well...that'd be because her daughter is ready to go."

"You mean..."

"The TARDIS coral you gave me at Bad Wolf Bay, it's finished growing. Torchwood called, she took her first inaugural flight all alone. Got the sass of her mother apparently," John explained.

"Well, that's fantastic!"

"That's where I was off to just now. I was going to see if we could get a lock on her location. Thought she might fly straight to John, but she obviously wanted to see some sites first," Rose said.

"Well, then I can definitely be of assistance. My TARDIS should be able to get a lock on yours quite easily, especially since they come from the same roots," the Doctor said. "How about it? Ready to see the Old Girl again?"

John's face lit up like a kid on Christmas. Rose beamed at him, clutching Clara's hand the whole time. Rose and John grabbed their coats and set off, eager to see the familiar telephone box. As they rounded the corner that the time-machine reside on, John let out a satisfied squeal. At the raised eyebrows of his wife, child, and the Doctor, he covered it up with a series of coughs and grunts. The Doctor unlocked the box and let them in.

"Oh, love the new desktop! How...Trekkie of you darling," John said while he stroked the console. The machine gave a satisfied whir of her engines. "Yes, it is good to see you too."

They admired the machine for a few moments while the Doctor messed with his dials. "Well, that's odd...A-HA!" he shouted suddenly, giving himself a whirl and heading straight for the doors. The rest of the group followed, confused and ran into him as he stood directly outside of the door.

"Doctor, Geez! What...?" Rose asked as she smacked into his back. The Doctor was staring directly at the phone booth that stood to the left of the TARDIS.

"Her chameleon-circuit is in full-function being a brand new TARDIS and all..." he said rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, she went exactly where she wanted to go alright. Right next to dear old mum," John said wrapping an arm around Rose and stepping forward. The phone booth was white with red stripes, a lock keeping the door secure. It blended in perfectly to the scenery, the random passerby ignoring her existence. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the door, a key appearing in the lock as his fingers brushed the metal. With a smile, he gave it a twist and stepped inside.

Rose shrieked in happiness tearing into the main room. As if sensing what their driver's wanted, it looked remarkably similar to the layout of the TARDIS console they had been so familiar with before. They looked around for a while before it fell silent. Rose was the first to speak, clearing her throat. "We weren't gonna leave. Not until we knew about you. Honestly, didn' think she'd be done so quickly."

"Oh...so, now that she's ready...you'll be wanting to take off?" Clara asked.

"Not right away. We have affairs to settle here, but yes. We plan to leave. However..." John let the sentence die off.

"However?" Clara asked nervously.

"The TARDIS brought you back to make a choice Clara. Either way, you can sale across time and space," the Doctor said a sad smile on his face.

Clara looked to her parents and then back to the Doctor. Her decision was permanent. They'd lucked out sending her across the Void to see the Doctor. If she stayed with her parents, she'd never see him again. But alternatively, if she stayed with the Doctor, it meant giving up the family she had spent so little time with to begin with. She loved her parents. She missed them terribly, but she'd grown up without them. She'd grown into the kind of woman who could save the universe...and the Doctor had made her that way. She looked to her mum, tears brimming in both their eyes.

Rose nodded her head. "It doesn't need saying. I made the same choice," she said embracing her daughter. John nodded, taking them both within his arms.

"Clara, the TARDIS seems to be comfortably settled here. You don't have to make your decision now, you can hold off," the Doctor began.

"When we leave in a few days Doctor, my choice will remain the same. No arguments either. This is hard enough as it is," she smiled giving him a nudge. "Let's just treat this like a vacation with the family, yeah?"

With a loud explosion, the ground beneath them shook, throwing the four of them off balance. John managed to catch Rose before she fell, the Doctor cushioning Clara's body as he'd attempted to the same. When the movement stopped, Rose spoke. "Was that the TARDIS?"

"No, no that was outside..." John said running towards the door.

The four of them gathered outside, looking around for the cause of the disturbance. Clara was the first to notice, lifting her index finger and pointing at the sky. The group's eyesight raised and witnessed a huge space ship, covering the sun in it's expanse. "_This planet is under planetary quarantine, if disease of origin is not eradicated, planet will be terminated," _a booming voice sounded through the city.

"Well, what do you say...one more adventure for Old Time's sake?" John asked the Doctor, hand on the TARDIS door.

A smile slowly crept onto the Time Lord's face before he shook his counterpart's hand. With their companions at their sides, the Doctor's gathered into the police box to save the world.


End file.
